Sheriff Mason Flynn and his new bride, Special Deputy US Marshal Fiona Mae Flynn—formerly Miller—assist a teenager in capturing a magnificent wild steeldust stallion for her horse ranch. They are in competition with an evil land baron who also wants the herd sire. Help in the form of Detective Bone, and Inspector Loraine Rodriguez comes when they are mysteriously transported back in time from 2018 to 1898 through an ancient Native American portal. Why are they there? Does Lucy have anything to do with it? Do they get back to 2018? Find out in STEELDUST.
Ken Farmer didn't write his first full novel until he was sixty-nine years of age. He often wonders what the hell took him so long. At age seventy-nine…he's currently working on novel number thirty-seven. Ken spent thirty years raising cattle and quarter horses in Texas and forty-five years as a professional actor (after a stint in the Marine Corps). Those years gave him a background for storytelling…or as he has been known to say, "I've always been a bit of a bull---t artist, so writing novels kind of came naturally once it occurred to me I could put my stories down on paper." Ken's writing style has been likened to a combination of Louis L'Amour and Terry C. Johnston with an occasional Hitchcockian twist…now that's a combination. In addition to his love for writing fiction, he likes to teach acting, voice-over and writing workshops. His favorite expression is: "Just tell the damn story." Writing has become Ken's second life: he has been a Marine, played collegiate football, been a Texas wildcatter, cattle and horse rancher, professional film and TV actor and director, and now…a novelist. Who knew? Ken Farmer's dialogue flows like a beautiful western river…it's the gold standard…Carole Beers
Steeldust by Ken Farmer lands you "smack-dab" in the thick of the action from the opening page. Farmer does a stellar job of creating the backdrop against which the story unfolds. You will hear the whistle of gun shots, you will feel the tensions that bristle between the characters. You'll feel the heat and the dust. This is, however, not your typical Western "no siree"! There are a lot of things that are refreshingly distinctive about this book, the first being that it includes time-travel as well as strong female characters. Lisanne is sure to be a firm favorite with readers. You'll find gun-slingling action, biting wit, as well as some genuinely touching moments through this book. Young Buster will win your heart as will the brilliantly described interactions between Lisanne and the stallion Steeldust. You get the distinct impression that the author knows his way around horses and may himself be somewhat of a "a real live horse whisperer," as Bone would put it. The dialogue is consistently authentic and infectious. Now, I'm not saying you'll be talking in a southern drawl after you read this book but I'm not NOT saying you'll be talking in a southern drawl after you read this book. The pace of the novel doesn't let up, the plot sizzles like a Texas backyard barbecue on the 4th of July. The characters evoke emotions from the entire spectrum. Some of dialogue segments were quite lengthy and it would have been good to balance this with more descriptive passages amongst it. In saying that, it's easy to work your way through the entire book in a couple of sittings. This is the kind of book that would make a great movie and I have already voted for it on the appropriate Listopia galleries on Goodreads.
Steeldust – A Lady Law Novel, by Ken Farmer, is the 11th book in the award-winning The Nations Series. Again, this author has written a story about the Old West that rings true to what I learned in History classes while growing up. The West was wild and Farmer knows how to accurately portray it. His amount of research continues to astound me, from food, clothing, tobacco, booze, language and slang, you name it. Details like this are what make fiction come alive. Speaking of which, the jargon or colloquialisms of various characters keep me in stitches!
Then he goes a big step farther and includes women in his tales. Unlike the old west, dominated mostly by men, the women in Farmer’s stories are magnificent and hold their own. They are rough and sharp when they need to be, but you never have to worry about them shedding their femininity to appease the plot. Farmer also has a way of slipping new characters into his stories. It just seems natural where a new character comes along because they fit in seamlessly.
Something else I enjoy about this author’s writing ability is that from his career as an actor, he knows how to set up the action. That is, the way his stories are written, we know what is going on with all the characters as the plot thickens and moves along. I love this author’s writing and story-telling ability. If you love Old West historical novels and haven’t read Ken Farmer, you’re missing out.
Author Ken Farmer continues to astonish his many fans with another great story in the Nations series. SteelDust is another great western story, this time with some sci-fi “mixed in”, reminding me of the Twilight Zone episode “The 7th Is Made Up of Phantoms”. Farmer is incredible in his story-telling, painting incredible word pictures of the “old west”. And Farmer continues to introduce new characters into The Nations series, and brings back old friends from earlier in the series. Farmer is also unique is high-lighting minority illuminaries from the old west, including an African-American marshal and a female sheriff. Whether he is describing the terrain, the food, the trails, or the tactics of fighting the outlaws, Farmer is incredible in his attention to detail. His extensive research, combined with his decades of experience as an actor, is clearly evident in his writing. Like all of Farmer’s fiction, once started, this book is hard to put down, and I read it in two days. Farmer is as good or better than the previous generation of western writers, like L’amour and Kelton. For me, Farmer’s dialogue is second to none. His use of local dialects and slang often left me laughing out loud. And of course, each of his individual books is a stand-alone morality play, with his familiar heroes fighting new, evil antagonists. Keep up the good work marine.
A KF. Texas SYFY Western Action Adventure (S) (B&LB - 1)
KF. has penned a Texas SYFY western action adventure titled, "Steeldust" which begins with a storm across the Texas desert where a man and woman headed for cover. They were soaking wet when they stepped into the cave. Before they entered they had parked the Volkswagon Desert vehicle at the entrance. When they awoke the VW was gone and the fertile valley they had crossed was barren. KF ties old ideologies together with present data as he creates a very unusual SYFY western. This is an excellent read for the genre.....DEHS
STEELDUST (The Nations Book 11) by Ken Farmer made a huge impression on me! I could not tear away from this book and readed it over several evenings. There is everything that I like about good literature - the author’s unique style, dynamic and not banal plot, intrigue and mystery. I’ve been reading a lot of fiction and fantasy lately, especially books on time travel, and I can say for sure that this is one of the best books I've read lately! I will look forward to new books by Ken Farmer!
Wow! what a book, I love this new person Bone and his sidekick Lorain. And as always Flynn and Fiona get their man. Glad to see they are married and gonna have a baby. I like the fact that the future comes back to meet the past. And it is his great-grandparents. That is awesome. Can't wait for the next book on Bone. Thank you, Ken Farmer, for an awesome read.
STEELDUST is a beautiful, magnificent stallion who is wanted and wanted badly by two people. The man who wants him is ruthless, and relentless. He is a man who gets what he wants no matter who or what he has to kill to get it. She wants STEELDUST because she loves him and needs him to help her with her ranch, besides she is the only person who can get close enough to touch him. Great read. BRAVO 👏👏BRAVO 👏BRAVO
Steeldust is one book I'll read again and again. It's filled with suspense and twists which made reading entertaining. Very nice character development use of language and storyline. I found it hard to put down immediately I started reading .